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A great week here at Castle Court, finishing with the children visiting a dance workshop at Millfield and the Year 5 and 6 swimming squad for becoming East Dorset Swimming Champions. Particular congratulations to the following who, having won their heats, will swim at the Dorset county finals in June – Matthew, Eleanor, Gabby, and the members of the three winning relay teams.

It may be cold and crispy but we have a great deal of great news to share with you. The term has got off to a busy start. School trips have begun, sports tournaments attended and the scholarship season has started. If you would like to find out more detail please visit our Facebook Page (Castle Court School) or follow us on Instagram.

In the meantime congratulations to the U11 boys’ hockey team who were crowned County Champions following a competition hosted here at Castle Court.

The end of the Christmas term is always filled with fun. Over the last week we have had a carol service, nativity and Christmas plays, parties, visits by magicians and Badger Cubs had a visit from Father Christmas this afternoon. Tomorrow we have the final assembly and Christmas lunch. “We only have one childhood. It has to be the best.”

I am now in a position to be able to let you know the outcome of the ISI Inspection from earlier this term. I am thrilled to be able to let you know that we are rated as “excellent” across all areas, this being the highest grading we could receive as a school. This is a great tribute to the hard work that we all put in to ensuring that our school is the best that it can be.

Some of the key findings from the inspectors that I would like to share with you now are:

 The (pupils) benefit from an excellent curriculum which is wide ranging, and is enhanced by an outstanding selection of exciting and adventurous extra-curricular opportunities.

 Pupils have excellent work habits, concentrating at length, settling to tasks without fuss and persevering with challenging activities. They are acquiring excellent skills for the future.

 Pupils’ thinking is consistently challenged, encouraging them to be active learners.

 A genuine sense of wonderment permeates throughout the school.

 The excellent relationships between pupils, parents and teachers is a significant strength of the school which has led to the pupils displaying confidence, pride and impeccable manners.

 Pupils are supervised with diligence, while also permitted the freedom to manage risks and explore their surroundings.

 The school’s caring ethos means that pupils trust staff and are ready to turn to them with any worries they may have.

 Parents value the school’s judgements, and respect and trust between home and school are evident.
I will leave the final words to our Year 8 pupils who encapsulated the experience on offer at Castle Court to the inspectors by saying the school represents . . . “opportunity”, “choice” and “friendly faces”. Over the next week we will be sending a a hard copy of the full report to all our current parents. If you are not currently a member of the school but would like a copy please email admissions@castlecourt.com . In the meantime please read the ISI full report here – ISI INSPECTION REPORT 2015

The school gathered together for two minutes’ silence at 11am on Wednesday 11th November. This year, pupils in Year 3 have worked together in their pottery lessons to produce their own pottery poppies to create a field of remembrance outside the Memorial Block.

Last Friday may have been wet and windy all day, but as per the last few years from 4.30pm, or there abouts, the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy a fabulous evening of bonfires, mulled wine, hot chocolate, burgers, hot dogs, glow sticks and fireworks. Thank you to the Castle Court Parent and Friends (CCPAF) team for their hard work in making this all possible. Profits will be donated to the school charities. Click on the link below to see some of the fireworks in all their glory.

We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Luke Gollings as our new Deputy Head. Luke was, until recently, housemaster at Monkton Combe Prep School. He knows Castle Court well as he has worked here in the past, his brother came to the school, and his wife is an Old Castellan as well! He will join us as Deputy in January 2016. I know he is looking forward to meeting you all and becoming part of the school once again. Luke will replace John Gilmour, who after nearly four years at Castle Court is leaving to take up an Headship at a prep school in Perth, Scotland.

To congratulate Queen Elizabeth II on becoming the longest reigning Monarch in British history, all members of Year 4 wrote her a personal letter. These are on display in the Year 4 classrooms. This week we received a reply from Buckingham Palace. Very exciting! Extracts from the letters will also be published in “Castle Views”. If you are not on our mailing list please email your postal address to office@castlecourt.com and we will ensure that you receive a copy of the Christmas edition of Castle Views.

If you are on our mailing list you will shortly be sent through information on the Christmas Holiday Courses. This year the course will run from Monday 14th December until Friday 18th December and is open to all children from aged 2 to 13! The children are divided into three groups, “Little Littles” (for children aged 2-3), “Little People” (for children from Reception to Year 2) and “Big Kids” (for children from Years 3-8), and each group will be looked after by their own leader and will have activities planned that are relevant to their age group. This year the “Big Kids” activities include a visit from animation nation, and trips to Prevail skatepark, bowling and Rockreef. If you would like to find out more please contact the school office on 01202 694438 or email holidaycourses@castlecourt.com.

Year 6 had the honour of Canford music staff plus a few senior pupils visiting them this morning for an hour of music and fun! The year group were given the chance to try a number of different instruments, strings, brass, and wind and put together mini performances. The James Bond theme played by the strings, after 20 minutes practice was very impressive! Our Year 6 children were also able to listen to the Canford pupils play, so they could appreciate what ensemble pieces could sound like after a lot of hard work!

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The school calendar is full and varied, as we aim to ensure that the children have as broad a range of experiences as possible. "We have one childhood. It has to be the best." Please click here to find out more, or look in the news section to read about events that our children have already attended and enjoyed.